Limited cap space has infringed on the Green Bay Packers’ ability to improve their roster after a disappointing 8-9 season. The NFL Draft is one way, but Green Bay is hoping that some experienced players already on the roster will play better in 2023.
Aaron Rodgers would be a perfect candidate to rebound from a down year, except he will soon be a member of the New York Jets. Statistically speaking, Rodgers is coming off the worst season of his career, which contributed to Green Bay missing the playoffs for the first time under Matt LaFleur.
LaFleur has said in the past that quarterbacks get too much of the blame and too much of the credit. The same can be said for a four-time MVP.
However, Rodgers isn’t the only veteran who fell short of expectations last season. As a team banking on internal improvement, Green Bay needs certain players to elevate their play if they hope to bounce back in 2023.
Here are a few names that fit that description.
S Darnell Savage
Savage was an obvious choice on the heels of a disastrous season that saw him get benched at the halfway point. A former first-round pick, Savage appeared to be the next ball-hawking safety in Green Bay, snagging six interceptions in his first two seasons. However, he started to decline in year three after his PFF grade fell below what it was as a rookie. Then, Savage regressed even more in 2022 when his defensive grade ranked 88th out of 89 safeties with at least 300 snaps.
The Packers probably regret picking up his fifth-year option but have nowhere to turn in 2023, as Rudy Ford is the only other safety on the roster that started for Green Bay last season. They could choose to take one of the top prospects in the upcoming draft, but this is looking like one of the thinnest safety classes in recent memory.
Fortunately, Savage did have some success when he returned to the lineup as the nickel. At the end of the season, Brian Gutekunst said he saw more urgency out of Savage lining up closer to the ball, which was similar to how he looked early in his career. Perhaps that will be the answer moving forward.
LB De'Vondre Campbell
No one could have predicted Campbell’s success in 2021 when he finished with 146 tackles, five pass defenses, 2.0 sacks and two forced fumbles. Signed off the street in June, he was named a first-team All-Pro after not making a single Pro Bowl in his first five seasons. The Packers had waited long and hard for a playmaking linebacker like Campbell, so they handed him a five-year, $50 million contract hoping for more of the same in 2022. Unfortunately, Campbell took a step back following his breakout season.
It was always going to be difficult for Campbell to replicate the success he had in 2021, but he came up short in a key area for inside linebackers. During his All-Pro campaign, Campbell missed only four tackles, per PFF. Last season, that number more than doubled to 11, even though Campbell missed four games with a knee injury. Green Bay doesn’t necessarily need Campbell to return to his All-Pro form, but it would be nice to see better tackling and improved production as long as he can remain healthy.
C Josh Myers
While not technically a veteran, Myers is entering his third season. All five starters along the offensive line are returning next season, but he is in the most jeopardy of losing his starting spot. Coming out of Ohio State back in 2021, Myers won the starting job but played in only six games as a rookie. While Myers went through his fair share of growing pains in year 1, the expectation was for him to look more like a long-term starter in 2022.
Sadly that wasn’t the case, as Myers was wildly inconsistent in 17 starts last season. According to Pro Football Focus, among the 39 centers who played at least 300 offensive snaps, Myers finished 33rd in run-blocking grade. That said, he actually held up pretty well in pass protection, finishing tied for seventh in pass-blocking efficiency.
It will be interesting to see how the Packers approach the center spot this offseason. They obviously need someone who is reliable and can anchor the offensive line during the transition to Jordan Love. Green Bay would be wise to bring in competition for Myers or maybe give Zach Tom a shot since he played over 1,000 snaps at center in college. Even though the team invested a third-round pick in Myers, let’s see how committed LaFleur is to playing the best five offensive linemen.
